SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an animated television series created by marine biologist/animator Stephen Hillenburg. The series premiered right after the Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. It officially began airing on July 17th of the same year with the second episode "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants". The main character is an accident-prone sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, his dumb starfish pal Patrick Star, the stingy octopus Squidward Tentacles, the cheapskate crab Mr. Krabs, his fashion-obsessed daughter Pearl and the overly hyper squirrel Sandy Cheeks, who wears an astronaut suit all the time and is characterized as a south westerner. Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or the surrounding lagoon floor, islets, deep, or at their own houses. The cartoon is designed to appeal to older viewers as much as to children. This has a lot to do with the way underwater life and situations are represented, absurdly, as though they are almost equivalent to normal terrestrial lifestyles. Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats—with wheels of course. Once, while on a camping trip, Patrick questions how they could have a camp fire on the lagoon bottom—the fire is immediately extinguished with a sizzle. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, just to remind the viewer everything is underwater. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple, while his neighbor Squidward lives in an Easter Island head and Patrick lives under a rock. The suggestion is that both have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. Spongebob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, who only meows like a cat, though characters have shown signs of being able to understand him. As such, worms are the undersea equivalent of dogs. Scallops are the equivalent of birds, as they "fly" and are kept in cages. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees as they buzz and sting, and are used for their jelly, but are collected or appreciated like butterflies. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the first theatrical film based on the series, was released on November 19, 2004. According to Square Roots, the movie was also the reason for the long hiatus between "Pranks a Lot" and "Fear of a Krabby Patty". A second movie, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, released on February 6, 2015. History / Production Theme Song The theme song, a sea shanty-style tune is sung by Pat Pinney and can also be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the song by superstar Avril Lavigne can be found on [[The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (soundtrack)|the soundtrack for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie]]. There was also a choral version done for the early episodes. For several special episodes, the theme song was altered to fit the plot of the episode, such as in "Christmas Who?" and "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" Characters * SpongeBob SquarePants- A square sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab along with his boring neighbour Squidward. * Patrick Star- A cheerful, naive and unintelligent starfish, who is SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock to the right of Squidward's house. * Squidward Tentacles- A hostile squid that lives in an Easter Island head between the domiciles of SpongeBob and Patrick. Although loved by the other characters, Squidward appears pessimistic and antisocial. * Sandy Cheeks- Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an old spacesuit and lives in the "Treedome" so that she can survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. * Eugene H. Krabs- The cheapsake, miserly owner of the Krusty Krab. Commonly known as Mr. Krabs, he is SpongeBob and Squidward's boss. He lives in an anchor with his daughter Pearl, who is a whale. * Sheldon J. Plankton- The owner of the Chum Bucket and Mr. Krabs's main rival. He is determined to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula from The Krusty Krab and run Mr. Krabs out of business. * Gary- SpongeBob's pet snail, and thus meows like all snails on the show. He is very intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied". Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes. Gary also has many other items stored in his shell. Episodes Seasons Movies Home video releases Cast * Tom Kenny: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, French Narrator, Patchy the Pirate, a Squid * Dee Bradley Baker: Squilliam Fancyson, Various Squids, Customers, Vendors * Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles * Bill Fagerbakke: Patrick Star * Carolyn Lawrence: Sandy Cheeks * Clancy Brown: Eugene H. Krabs * Doug Lawrence (a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence): Sheldon J. Plankton, Larry Lobster * Lori Alan: Pearl Krabs * Mary Jo Catlett: Poppy Puff * Ernest Borgnine '(Until death in 2012): Mermaid Man * 'Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy * Stephen Hillenburg: Potty * Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman * Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble * Marion Ross: Grandma Squarepants * Jill Talley: Karen, Plankton's computer wife. * Tom Ramos: Marcus Additional voices in the movie * Scarlett Johansson: Princess Mindy * Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune * Alec Baldwin: Dennis Crew * Stephen Hillenburg: Creator/Executive Producer (1999-2004) * Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story Editor/Executive Producer(1999-2004) * Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/Executive Prouducer (2005-2006) * Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Backing Voice Actor/Executive Producer, Showrunner(1999-2004;2005-present) * Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer * Doug Lawrence (Mr. Lawrence): Writer/Story Editor/Voice Of Plankton and Larry * Chuck Klein: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Jay Lender: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Sam Henderson: Writer/Storyboard Director * Kaz: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Aaron Springer: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * C.H. Greenblatt: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Bradley Carow: Music * David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects animator) * Caleb Muerer: Art Director * Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production * Tim Hill: Writer * Eric Wiese: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Mark O'Hare: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Steven Fonti: Writer/Storyboard Director (1999) * Chris Mitchell: Writer/Storyboard Artist (1999) * Mike Bell: Writer/Storyboard Director (2005-) * Vincent Waller: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director/Technicial Director (2005-) * Alan Smart: Animation Director * Tom Yasumi: Animation Director * Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director * Sean Dempsey: Animation Director Trivia * Spongebob is the only 90's Nicktoon that is still airing today. * Spongebob has won 12 KCA blimps, having the most blimps won. References External links *Encyclopedia SpongeBobia *SpongeBob SquarePants on Wikipedia de:SpongeBob Schwammkopf (Serie) nl:SpongeBob SquarePants pl:Spongebob Kanciastoporty Category:Shows with Wikis Category:SpongeBob SquarePants Category:Nicktoons Category:Kids' Choice Awards winners Category:Current shows